Chapter 2 of Professional Capital:
Transforming Teaching in Every School lays out a different thesis than chapter
1; in this chapter the authors begin their examination of who teachers are,
what they deal with every day, and the competing views of teachers in general.
Hargreaves and Fullan go to great
lengths to describe the problems that teachers face in their profession
Low support, technology inequity, and performance based pay are just a few of
the major issues that the authors highlight. The authors also go on to
describe "flaws" in the U.S. educational strategy that create a
culture for educational ineffectiveness. Overwhelming compliance issues,
merit based pay, and school environment are highlighted at great length.
It is all of these issues, however,
that I believe Hargreaves and Fullan highlight to prepare the reader to
understand that in the midst of the myriad struggles facing the teaching
profession, teachers are still important. And to sustain their
importance, we must understand a few key tenants:
- Good teaching is technically sophisticated and
difficult
- Good teaching requires high levels of education and
long periods of training
- Good teaching is perfected through continuous
improvement
- Good teaching involves wise judgments informed by
evidence and experience
- Good teaching is a collective accomplishment and
responsibility
In the end, Hargreaves and
Fullan begin to lay the groundwork to argue their points to transform
teaching in every school. The authors admit that "to change
anything, we must first know what it is that we are changing" (23).
In chapter three, they will go deeper into the nature of teaching in an attempt
to know what we attempting to change.
